Spacer for plaster wall board



Feb. 23 1926. 1,574,117

' J. SCHI JMACHER SPACER FOR PLASTER WALL BOARD Filed ,Dec. 16, 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ENVENTOR John fiahumac-her .Feb. 23 1926. 7 1,574,117

' J. SCHUMACHER SPAGER FOR PLASTER WALL BO ARD Fi led Dec. 16, 1924. 2 sheets-S heet 2 33 J4 I V INVENTOR x m 'John Schyzmacher Patented Feb. 23, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SPACER FOR PLASTER W'ALL BOARD.

Application filed. December 16, 1924. Serial No. 756,235.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOHN Scnunacr-nzn, a citizen of the llnited States of America, and resident of the city of Los Angelcs, in LosAngeles County, State of California, have invented certain new and useful i111 provements in Spacers ior Plaster \Vall Board, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to spacers intended if or use with suspended sheets and designed to maintain them at all times separated.

The object of the invention is chiefly to provide a simple and eilective means where by a series oi sheets suspended in parallel relationship, as for purposes of drying in a kiln, may be maintained evenly spaced apart and so as to provide uniform air circulating spaces between each sheet and its adjacent sheets.

My invention consists essentially oi a lOil or bar having spacing blocks or enlargements formed therein or attached thereto, and means whereby said rod may be easily attached to and detached from supporting means.

My device, which has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, will be hereinafter described and the novel ieatures'thereof upon which I desire to secure a patent will be specifically defined in the claims terminating this specification.

In the accompanying drawings I haveshown my invention embodied in a number of forms, all of analogous character, in which the same may be coi'istructed.

Figure. l. is a side view of a mechanism en'iployed for carrying and supporting the sheets to be dried, having n'iy invention attached thereto.

Figure 2 a view of a portion the mechanism shown in liigi-ire 1, taken from one end of said figure.

Figure is an enlarged view showing in more detail the mechanism employed.

Figures 4- and 5 are views similar to higure 2, showing slight diilerences of construction.

Figures 6 to 11, inclusive, are views show ing the construction of the upper end of the spacer and the manner oi securing the same to the sheet-suspending means. 1

The spacers which form the subject of my present invention have been specifically designed for use in connection with the drying of plaster Wall board under a plan in which the green or partially set wall board is suspended by its upper edge while the curing or complete drying, is accomplished. it it evident, however, that the spacers might be advantageously employed in connection with sheets of other material and under oth er circumstances, provided said sheets are suspended by their upper edges.

The particula' mechanism illustrated in my drawings whereby the plaster wall board sheets are suspended is. the same as that shown in the application for patent oi. Arthur G. Smith andF rank R. Bates, Serial No. 673,599. It is therefore not deemed necessary to herein go into a very detailed explanation of its construction. It will sutiice to say that this mechanism en'iploys small carriage-s1, running upon an elevated tracltway rail as 10 and carrying clainpi devices adapted to engage the upper edge of the sheet so as to support the same. These clamping devices comprise downwardly extending arms 11 spaced apart in parallel relationship, one face of each arm containing ail-incline as 12, and with these a dogging member which is illustrated as a section of pipe or tube 18. The upper ecges of the plaster wall board sheet 2 is inserted between one tace of the pipe 13 and the fiat face of the depending arm 11 and its weight tending to roll the pipe 13 downwardly causes the latter to grip thesheet and hold it in place-- Experience has shown that plaster wall board sheets so suspended, when placed in a kiln without having spacers between them, do not dry as evenly as they should, for the reason that certain sheets swing towards each other until they (01116 in contact and free circulation of air between them is thus impeded and stopped and their drying is thus prevented. For, this reason spacers are designed to be employed so that each sheet is held spaced away from its neighbor sheets.

The type of spacer which is the subject of this invention comprises a rod or wire 3 having thereon spacingblocks or enlargements as i and at its upper end provided with means by which it may be readily attached to and detached from some member carried by the supporting car. In a car of the construction herein illustrated and also shown in the Smith and Bates application, the doc; employed to grasp the sheet consists of a short piece of pipe. I therefore design to employ this as the member upon which to secure the spacing bars. The upper end of the rod or Wire 3 of the spacer bar is given a lateral bend as 30, and also has a return bend section as 31, of any one of several forms, and the two parts 30 and 31 thus form a spring or yielding arm of such size that it may be freely inserted within the tube or pipe 13 and will have a sufiicient friction grip thereon so as to hold it securely against accidental removal.

In Figure 11 this arm is shown as being bent to form one or more turns, as 32, which secures a more effective spring action between the two sides of the arm. Figures 6, T, 3 and 10 show different manners of bend ing this arm in order to secure the desired frictional grip. The form shown in Fig ures (3 and 8 provides for the engaging grip between the suspending arm and the tube 13 at what is essentially two points, namely at the extreme width of said arm at 1.4. This permits lateral swinging of the main body of the rod 3 so that it can swing to one side of the pipe 13, as indicated in Figure 8. The same result is secured by the construction in Figure '7 in which the bend of the two parts 30 and 31 is in a plane at right angles to that containing the main body or depending portion 13. It reference be had to figures 2, 4c or 5 it will be seen that the center of the tubes 13 does not coincide with the center of the space between consecutive sheets 2. F or this reason the spacer blocks erof Figure 2 are shown as secured to the rod 3 so as to project more at one side than at the other. If, however, the depending section 3 be shifted to one side so as to be substantially in the same vertical plane as one side of the tube 13, it will be approximately centrally placed be tween the sheets 2.

In Figures 5 and 9 I have illustrated a construction somewhat differing in details from that just shown, although the principlcs employed are the same. In this case the upper end of the rod 3 is bent laterally to one side to term a straight arm 33 and the lower portion of the arms 11 of the supporting carriage are provided with holes as 1: adapted to receive the end 33 of the sus pending wire. This hole is positioned. so that it comes substantially in central position between the sheets 2. It is only necessary to insert. the end of the wire in the holes 14 to support the spacer. The hole 14: may be enlarged at one or both ends if desired for convenience in inserting the end of the spacer.

It is evident that the details of construction of this spacer may be varied in many ways. By the use or spacers of this kind when the sheets are secured to the carriage the even spacing of the sheets throughout the drying process is secured and the spacers are of such small area that they do not interfere with the tree circulation of air between the sheets. As a consequence the sheets are dried evenly and warping, which is induced. by unequal drying, is avoided.

hat I claim as my invention 1. A spacing device "for suspended sheets comprising a rod having spacing enlarge ments thereon and a susperniing hook at its upper end.

2. A spacing device for suspended sheets comprising a rod havingspacing enlargements thereon and a lateral bend at its up per end having springsides and adapted to enter a holding socket.

,3. A spacer for suspended sheets comprising a rod having spacing blocks thereon and a spring clip at its upper end adapted to supportingly engage a'niember of the sheet suspending apparatus.

a. A spacer comprising a rod having its upper end bent laterally and then back to form a compressible lateral arm, and spacing blocks distributed along said rod.

A spacing device for suspended sheets comprising a rod having a lateral bend at its upper end adapted to enter holding socket, said bend being centrally enlarged transversely to form pivoting contacts with the socket; whereby the spacer rod may au ton atically adjust itself transversely to inn 0 .*entraliy between the sheets, and spacing members carried by said rod.

Signed at Seattle, King County, iiasl ington, this 10th day of December, 1924-.

JOHN scnurnronns. 

